It was kind of a weird weekend and I'm still trying to collect my thoughts 
about it.

I was up late Friday night at Speed Shop helping put the motor together and 
before we loaded up the trailer we decided to check my rear sag and it was 
really bad so, we cranked the preload down quite a bit and I headed out to the 
track.

Saturday
--------
The track was still a little damp from the night before and I was trying out 
new tires (on my bad ass new rims!) and breaking in the motor so, I didn't 
really get anything done.

I spent the entire day dealing with traffic which was kind of frustrating 
because I really wanted to work on my laptimes but, it was great practice at 
passing and riding close which were skills that I haven't really developed yet.
 
By the end of the day I had dropped a few seconds from my previous best on this 
configuration and the bike felt really good. It's been a long time since the 
Ninja felt anything but ragged.

Sunday
------
I leisurely breezed in around 7AM, gotta love that Saturday evening 
registration/tech, and feeling a little worse for the wear. I think Janice 
finally gave me her cold.

Morning practice was another exercise in dealing with traffic. I used to be
so tentative in passing. The bike used to feel like it was on the ragged edge
of traction most of the time so, passing had to be executed carefully because
I didn't feel that I had enough traction left for the unexpected but, the bike 
seemed like it had plenty more to give this weekend.

The Race
--------
I was in race 9, which is after Formula Pacific. After FP they put the winners 
on the podium and chat a little so, we had a little while before we had to get 
down to pre-grid. Lisa Mazurkiewicz #628 and I were suited up and waiting for 
'em to make the first call but, when it never came, we headed down on our own 
and saw that we missed the warm-up lap and were directed straight out onto out 
grid spots. Damn!

I got a good launch but it turned into a crappy start anyway. There's obviously 
something I'm still missing here. Anyway, I just put my head down and tried to 
work my way through the pack - I really wanted top novice this time. Rick 
Williams #956 and I swapped places a few times as we worked our way up. Then 
the 450 guys caught up with us and some of 'em were pretty challenging to get 
around. They'd drop anchor in the corners and then blast down the straights.
It was frustrating to watch the next 250p rider get further and further away 
from me while I tangled with a 450.

Still, all in all I felt kind of mechanical. Maybe because the bike was pretty 
well dialed in or because I was more concerned with my finishing position than 
the individual battles along the way or maybe just because I wasn't feeling
well. I dunno, the only good part about this is that for the first time in 
awhile I think I can still go alot faster.

After we pulled in and were chatting about the race it started raining and the 
AFM canceled the rest of the races. We scurried around packing everything up.
Tentative results show that I finished 18th and was the third novice. Drat. :)